There are three words which sum up the reason why progressives should just walk away from the gubernatorial election and let the cards fall as they may: it doesn’t matter. That’s right, this election doesn’t matter to progressives. If we’re really honest with ourselves, we’d admit that our work in the campaign to get Creigh Deeds elected as our next governor has had very little to do with Creigh Deeds at all, and almost everything to do with keeping Bob McDonnell out of the Governor’s Mansion; and just like it’s difficult to motivate voters with purely negative campaigning, it’s hard to keep the motivation as a campaign volunteer when your goal is to primarily have the other guy lose, especially when the guy you’re campaigning for can’t keep it together.

Creigh Deeds hasn’t kept it together. From the very start of his general campaign, Deeds has continuously missed the mark. His primary win has less to do with him being the strongest Democratic candidate, and more about his opponents beating each other down, allowing Deeds to sail through to victory. I wasn’t prepared for his win, but it wasn’t my job to be prepared. It was the job of Deeds’ campaign to be prepared, and it’s obvious that they weren’t, no matter what they may claim today.

From the primary forward, as indicated by primary and general endorsements from the Washington Post, transportation has been the strength of the Deeds campaign. It was spelled out, in black and white, for Creigh Deeds; but his campaign failed to rally around that strength and build upon it. While Deeds’ honesty about transportation funding is admirable, it didn’t stop Bob McDonnell from continuously holding up a piece of blank paper as a prop to symbolize that Deeds has no specific plan other than the admission of the necessity of raising taxes to boost Virginia’s transportation fund, and figuring out the details by committee after Deeds is elected. While Bob McDonnell’s plan is faulty, there should have been more time, thought, and detail placed into Deeds’ transportation plan, and the presentation of that plan should have been the keystone of the campaign. They couldn’t even get this together, and Deeds very publicly stumbled at explaining the basics of transportation funding. We have never heard a strong, concise, and detailed presentation on transportation from Creigh Deeds himself; it’s been transportation authorities and business leaders who have supported his transportation plan, but that’s not enough to win.

From the very start of Deed’s campaign, beginning in the primary, he has either ignored or taken progressives for granted. His campaign gave progressives no reason to support Deeds other than constantly remind us how horrible Bob McDonnell’s theocratic conservative ideology is. While I disagree with Bob McDonnell on a huge range of issues, Deeds isn’t exactly a beacon of individual liberty either. While Deeds’ may claim to be evolving on social issues, he’s barely a stones throw away from McDonnell in many ways. Let’s not forget that Creigh Deeds supported the Marshall-Newman ballot measure that led to the amending of Virginia’s constitution with discriminatory language that continues to deny equality to all people. While he did campaign against the passage of the measure, after supporting placing the measure on the ballot, anyone worth their political salt should have known what the outcome of the measure would be at that time.

Perhaps the final straw that broke the camel’s back for many progressives was placed last night during the final debate between Creigh Deeds and Bob McDonnell. On the issue of the public option in health care reform, the public option supported by Democracy for America, CREDO Action, MoveOn.org, and preferred by President Barack Obama; Creigh Deeds agreed with Bob McDonnell that Virginia should consider opting out of the public option if the option is included in national health care reform. Following this statement, he raddled off goals he believes need to be accomplished with health care reform, many of which are reasons why the public option should be made available. It was a clear display of his lack of understanding of the health care debate, and lack of support for progressive causes.

What makes all of this worse is that the strategy of the Deeds campaign is not working. If he clearly had momentum and was leading in the polls, progressive Democrats could tell themselves that his strategy is okay, and all of the above is acceptable because it’s what is leading Deeds to victory. The reality is the exact opposite.

While I continue to endorse Creigh Deeds as the more moderate candidate in the gubernatorial race, I will not contribute any more time to his campaign. I will vote, and nothing more. I am a Democrat because I’m a progressive, and not the other way around. I believe Creigh Deeds has shown that he’s not interested in progressive causes, and because of this; I’m no longer interested in helping him win this election.

Related posts:

1. Deeds WAPO editorial clarifies his transportation plan
2. Creigh Deeds, his campaign, and the Washington Post
3. Washington Post: Endorsement of Creigh Deeds comes down to transportation, again
4. Bob McDonnell forgets about transportation
5. PPP: Deeds has lost 25% of the liberal electorate